Sucker rod wrench device



June '7, 1932v J. A. VANCE ET AL, ,851,728

SUCKER ROD WRENCH DEVICE Filed may 21, 192e 2 sheets-sheet 1 5P l 1 50 3. 36 t 38 4 June 7, 1932. J. A. vANcE ET AL SUCKER ROD WRENCH DEVICE Filed May 2l, 1928 2 lSheecs-Sheec 2 INVENTOR. h l Kana@ A TTORNEY Patented June 7, 1932 UNI-.TED .STATES JOSEPH A.`VANCE AND DAVID IVI. HAMMETT, OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA STICKER' ROD" WRENCH 'DEVICE' Application led May 21,

Our inventionrelates to wrenches and more particularly to devices of that charac# ter for operating wrenches to set up .and disconnect the couplings that connect .adjoining 5 sections of aestring of sucker rods used in pumping oil wells.

A pair of` bar type wrenches are ordinarily employed for connecting or disconnecting sucker rod couplings, and two operators are 10 required 'forlmanipulating the wrenches, one of the wrenches being usedfor holding one of the rod sections stationary while the other wrenchA is engaged with the wrench shank of the adjoining section and swung around 15 the coupling in a direction appropriate for setting up or unscrewing the coupling members.

The principal objects 'of-the present invention .are to'save time andlabor i-n connecting 9 and disconnectingcouplings, -to provide-for one-man operationl of coupling wrenches,'to reduce the hazard of wrench'operation, and particularly toV provide a wrench-carrying device of simple and. compact construction 5 embodying station-aryand operable wrench members whereby the connecting `anddisconnecting ofthe rod couplings may be accom` plished efficiently and safely by one operation.

:In accomplishing these and Aother objects of the invention we have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms'of which .are illustrated in the accompanying dra-wings, wherein:

`Fig. 1 is a. perspective view of the device set up in associationwith a well casing Vfor operation.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the device illustrating the mounting of the 4g device on the tubing, and showing the wrench members applied to a sucker rod coupling.

Fig. 3 is a transversesectionon the line 3 3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the clamp- 5 ing member ofthe device and of a clamp bushing, shownin 4open and separated posi-- tion;

Referring 'in detailto the drawings:

:o designates the upper end of a well casing for lmmgan` oil well, and 2 .designates 1928. Serial No. 279,554.

the upper end portion of the well tubing eX-y tending into the casing, and fitted with a coupling 3.v A nipple lis iixed in the upper end of the coupling (Fig. 2) and our improved sucker `rod wrench carrying device, 55 generally designated 5, iis mounted on Vthe nipple and partly support-edl by the tubing as later described. l-Thedevice is `adapted for engaging coupling members 6 and 7 of sucker rod sections 8 and 9 for eifecting avconnec ce tion or disconnection of the sucker rods as required. The wrench carryingdevice 5 consists of a substantially` cylindrical lower-body member 10 and a conical upper member 11, the members being provided with vertically eX- tending axial openings 12 and 13,'alignment of the openings ,being maintained by mated retaining elements on the adjoining ends of" the members, as will hereafter be described.v

Mounted vin lthe opening 12 at the lower side of the member 10 is a split bushing 14, adapted to res-t on the tubing coupling 3 and having an opening 15 for receiving the nipple l4 and Ya bottom flange 16 to receive the bottom end vof the member 10 for support of'said body member and the device from the tubing. v

The body member 10 is intended to be securely clampedfto the nipple 4 through the bushing 14 to prevent its: rotation thereon and for this purpose a semi-circular depend ing skirt-like portion 17 of the body member is provided with a radial clamp bracket 18, and a radial hinge bracket 19 extends oppositely from the member 10, and a semi-circular clamp 20 is pivotally engaged with the hinge bracket for swinging. into engagement with the bushing and the clamp bracket. The clamp 20 is provided with av radial hinge boss 21 to receive a pivot pin 22 extending through thehinge bracket 19, for hingedly engaging thek clamp with the body member 10, and `also `has a bracket vportion23 onl its outer endsimilar to the clamp bracket 18 on the semi-circular skirt of the body mem- Y ber. rlhe brackets 18 and 23 are provided with similar lateral and outwardly opening slots 24 and 25, and a clampingv bolt .26. is pivotally `supported bythe bracket-1,8 for moving into the slot-s when the brackets are brought together to secure the clamp to the body member.

The clamping bolt 26 is mounted for horizontal pivoting on a pivot pin 27 extending through paired ears 28 and 29 on the outer face of the bracket 18, the ears being spaced by the slot 24 in said bracket, and a nut 30 on the free end of the bolt is engageable with the outer face of the bracket 23 for urging the clamp into clamping relation with the bushing 14 to clamp the bushing to the nipple and thereby support the device from the tubing.

Formed in the lower edge of the body member 10 opposite to the skirt 17 is a recess 31 for admitting a wrench 32 into engagement with the wrench shank 33 on the upper end of the lower rod section 8. The wrench does not swing horizontally in the recess to turn the coupling, but the end walls 34 and 35 of the recess are spacedpsuiciently to permit a slight idle movement of the wrench therebetween, asr illustrated in Fig. 3, the walls serving as stops so that a jarring action may be imparted to the wrench.

Provided at the upper end of the member 10 is an enlarged ring portion 36 which is counter-bored to form an upstanding peripheral lia-nge 37 and an annular bearing race 38, the counter-bore being connected with the opening 12 by a tapered portion 39.

Mounted on the bearing race 38 is a roller bearing member 40 which is engaged by a male flange 41 on the bottom end of the conical body member 11,' the flange 41 being rotatably litted within the upstanding ange 37 for retaining the members 10 and 11 in aXial alignment. f f

The member 10 is further provided with a boss 42 protruding sidewardly therefrom and at right angles to the brackets 18 and 23 and fixedly mounted in an openingV 43 in the boss is a radially extending pin 44 carrying a vertically positioned rotatableY bevel gear 45 whiclrmeshes with an annular toothed gear portion 46 on the lower and outer edge of the conical body member 11, so that the member 11 may be rotated through the gear 45 over the stationary body member 10.

The gear 45 is retained on the pin 44 by means of a washer 47 and a cotter pin 48, and a handle 49 is loosely mounted on a bolt 50 fixed -in the outer ring portion of the gear whereby the gear is adapted for manual operation.

' Provided in the walls of the member 11 are a plurality of rectangular-shaped openings 51 adapted for receiving a wrench 52 which is engageable with'the wrench shank 53 Aon the coupling member 7 of the upper rod section 9. The openings 51 are arranged at varying levels in the member 11 so that the wrench 52 may be selectively applied in one of the openings and thereby adapted for engagement with various types of rod couplings which have a variance of spacing between the wrench Shanks.

Formed on the conical surface of the member 11 and positioned immediately below each of the openings 51 are bosses 54, the upper plane surfaces 55 thereof being continuations of the bottom edges of the openings 51 so that a wrench applied in one of the openings will rest on the top surface of the boss.

A recess 56 isV provided in each of the bosses 54 to receive a retainer pin 57 for a purpose to be presently described.

. The wrenches 32 and 52 which are adapted to be applied in their respective members 10 and 11 are similar in construction, each comprising a rectangular shaped bar 58 having an opening 59 at one end for positioning on the square shank of a rod coupling.

The upper wrench member 52 is provid-ed at its outer end with a series of spaced openings 60 adapted for registering with the recess 56 in one of the bosses 54 so that the wrench may be shifted to a desired -engaging position relative to a wrench shank, after which the retainer pin 57 is applied in the opening registering with the recess for securing the wrench in the selected position.

A string of sucker rods is ordinarily composed of a plurality of sections of uniform length, each section having at one end a threaded pin 61 and at the other end an internally threaded box 62 (Fig. 2) for engaging with the pin of an adjoining section, whereby a continuous rod is formed that extendsfrcm the actuating apparatus at the top of the well through the tubing into the working barrel. The working barrel is supported on aseat in the lower end cf the tubing, and the sucker rod string is operativelyconnected to a plunger whichreciprocates vin the working barrel, all being well known construction.

When a string of sucker rods and the plunger and working barrel engaged therewith are being removed with the use of our device, an elevator 63 is applied over a rod below the lower collar of a couplingfand passed downwardly through the central openings 12 and 13, and may then be seated on the nipple 4 within the bushing 14, the elevator including bails 64 for supporting the string of rods and properly positioning the con.- plings for engagement by the wrenches.

Assuming a device to be constructed and assembled for operation as heretofore I de scribed, its operation is as follows: Y

In the pumping of oil wells it is necessary that the pump or working barrel plunger be removed occasionallyL for the reconditioning or replacement of worn parts. The working barrel plunger is of less diameter than the inside diameter of the tubing so that it may be unseated and withdrawn through the tubing by the string of sucker rods. As the string of sucker rods is being withdrawn from the well it is necessary that the sections be disconnected by unscrewing the couplings as they emerge from the tubing sufiiciently to permit the couplings to be engaged by the wrenches, and in lowering the rods into a well the sections are again connected up in a reverse order.

The wrench carrying device 5 is mount-ed on the nipple 4 so that the device rests on the coupling 3 and the clamp 20 is then drawn up tightly by the clamp bolt to hold the bushing 14 in close frictional engagement with the nipple 4 and thereby secure the body member l0 against rotation on the tubing.

With the member 11 in assembled position on the member 10 and with the wrench members 32 and 52 removed, an elevator 63 of a conventional type is applied over a rod below the lower collar of a joined coupling and is passed downward through the central openings 12 and 13 and is seated on the end of the nipple 4.

The wrenches 32 and 52 are then shifted inwardly into engagement with the wrench shanks of their respective lower and upper coupling members 6 and 7 preparatory for a connecting or disconnecting operation.

In Fig. 2 the coupling is shown in a setup condition with the wrenches 32 and 52 engaged with the wrench shanks of the coupling. Should it be desired to effect a disconnection of the coupling members, the operator would rotate the gear 45 in a clockwise direction, thereby imparting anti-clockwise movement to the member 11 which carries the wrench 52, and causing the box 62 to be unscrewed from the pin 61 which is held against rotation by the wrench 32, the movement of the wrench 32 being limited in this instance by the stop wall 34 of the recess 31 (Fig. 3).

In setting up a coupling when the rods are being lowered in a well, the operation of the device is the reverse of that above described, and a jarring action may be imparted to the wrench 32 by rocking the gear 45 to and fro, thereby applying the final snap or set up to a coupling.

The elevator bail used with the device is preferably short so that it will lie against the wall of the opening 13 when the device is in operation, its upper end clearing and passing under the movable wrench member 52.

While the device is shown as adapted for manual operation it is to be understood that the device may be easily and quickly adapted for operation by other power means, and that it may also be attached to tubing of various sizes by providing the bushing 14 with various sizes of openings to fit the different sizes of the tubing.

That we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wrench device for support by well tubing having a coupling, a nipple screwthe bushing, a clamp hingedly engaged with the body member for cooperation with the skirt to clamp the body member to the bushing and engage the bushing with the Vnipple, a

rotatable member, means rotatably supporting the rotatable member from the body` member, wrench-retaining means in each of said members, and means for rotating the rotatable member to move the wrench retained thereby in relation to the Wrench retained by the other member. y

2. In a wrench device for support by well tubing, a coupling member engaged with the tubing and a tubular member engaged with the coupling and forming a shoulder therey,

with, a split bushing engageable with the tubular member for support from the shoulder and having an annular flange, a body member having a. semi-circular depending skirt supported on the bushing iiange, a

clamp hingedly engaged with the body member for cooperation with the skirt to clamp the body member to the bushing and engage the bushing with the tubular member, the

body member having a roller-receiving counterbore, rollers in the counterbore, a rota-table tubular member having a depending flange supported on said rollers for retaining the rotatable member in concentric relation with the body member, wrench-retaining means in each of said members, and means for rotating the rotatable member to move the wrench retained thereby in relation to the wrench retained by t-he other member.

3. ln a wrench device for support by well tubing provided with a coupling, a tubular support screw-threadedly engaged with the coupling and providing a shoulder therewith, a split bushing engageable with the tubular support for support from the shoulder and having an annular flange, a tubular body member having a semi-circular depending skirt supported on the bushing flange, a clamp hingedly engaged with the body member for cooperation with the skirt to clamp the body member to the bushing and engage the bushing with the tubular support, a roller-receiving counterbore in the body member producing an annular retaining flange, rollers in the counterbore, a rotatable member having a depending iiange supported on said rollers for retainingthe rotatable member in concentric relation with the body member, wrench-retaining means in each of said members, and means for rotating the rotatable member to move the wrench retained thereby in relation to the wrench retained by the other member including a gear Wheel supported by the body member.

4. A device of the character described including a pair of members independently rotatable about a common axis and provided With radial keeper portions, Wrenches movable in said keeper portions to engagement with an object enclosed by the rotatable members, a bevel rack on one of the members, a pin projecting radially from the other member, and a bevel pinion rotatably mount* ed on said pin for engaging the rack for imparting rotary thrust of the members in opposite directions.

5. In combination with Well tubing, an annular seat on the tubing, a body member rotatable on the seat and having a transverse slot, a second body member rotatably mounted on the first named member and having a transverse slot, Wrench members movable in the respective slots to engagement with separate rod sections, and means for effecting rotary movement of one of the body members relative to the other.

6. A device of the character described including av pair of members independently rotatable about a common axis and provided With radial slots, a radially removable Wrench in each or" said slots to engage With an object inclosed by i the rotatable members, and means for rotating one of said members relative to the other, the slot in one of said members being Wider than its corresponding Wrench to permit a limited rotary movement of said Wrench on the common axis, whereby a rotary jarring action may be imparted to said object.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures.

JOSEPH A. VANCE. DAVID M. HAMMETT.

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